Babysitter training a must

Ideally, babysitters should have some experience, solid references, a clean background and some basic babysitter training, including CPR, first-aid and the Heimlich maneuver, says Herrolz. Babysitters should know who to contact and what actions to take in an emergency. Parents should not consider a babysitter who has not completed some sort of course related to babysitter training, says Stacie Burch, assistant director of Anne Arundel Community College’s Teacher Education and Child Care Institute. In Maryland, children must be at least 13 to watch a younger child alone. Many families, however, opt to hire babysitters who are a few years older.

Even if a babysitter is a friend of the family or someone who comes highly recommended, it’s still best to make sure he or she knows how to deal with difficult situations. The sitter should be able to handle small crises on his or her own, Herrolz says.

“Every person who’s responsible for a child should know how to rescue a child,” she explains. “They need to know what to do, how to stay calm. They need to know their limits.”

Since the negative experience with the sitter with the boyfriend, the Shepards have found babysitters through Anne Arundel Community College, where Shepard is an instructor in the architecture and interior design department. Some of her students have turned out to be the best babysitters. Even if Shepard feels she knows the potential babysitters well, she always interviews them and makes sure they are the right fit.

A babysitter must…

Do the dishes? Clean the house? Wash the laundry? The answers to these questions should usually be “no” when it comes to babysitter responsibilities, Burch says. The reason being, babysitters should be entirely focused on the children. (A full time nanny might have additional responsibilities.)

“They should focus on the kids, but if a group of children make a mess, those children should clean up the mess,” says Burch.

Young babysitters should not be asked to cook meals, though they can serve prepared meals. Giving baths could be within the realm of responsibilities, as well as helping children with homework, Burch says.

One of the Shepards’ previous babysitters whom they loved, washed the dishes and sometimes cleaned the house, but Shepard says she does not expect that. “But when it’s done it’s very much appreciated.”

Severna Park babysitter Terrance Sellman often helps the children clean up their toys, but he doesn’t clean or wash dishes. He’s more focused on the kids. During a typical babysitting gig, Sellman, a sophomore at University of Maryland Baltimore County, performs science experiments and plays games. Sellman quickly learned that playing with the kids was more fun than just watching them.

“Initially I was kind of under the assumption that babysitting was a watching type thing, where the kids run around the house and you make sure they don’t get hurt,” Sellman admits. “It’s more rewarding to be more of an engaging babysitter and you see kids learn.”

Babysitting is not always fun and games. Although parents and babysitters would love their children to be well behaved all the time, chances are a babysitter may have to discipline at some point. It is essential for the parents and babysitter to agree on discipline tactics.

Though the children Sellman babysits are usually well behaved, occasionally problems arise when he’s watching a few kids of varying ages. Then, there could be arguments, rowdiness or mischief, he says. Sellman’s go-to discipline tactic is threatening to call the parents.

“Sometimes if a child is getting a little out of control I would pretend as if I was calling the parent,” Sellman says, chuckling. “I would say ‘What would Mommy or Daddy say if I would call them now?'” That usually works, he says.
What is a good babysitter worth?

The going rate for sitters in the Annapolis area is roughly $10 an hour, sources agree. Shepard pays $10 an hour if the children are awake, and $7 an hour once they go to sleep. Sellman earns $10 an hour, he says.

On www.care.com, an online resource for locating caregivers and service providers, the suggested pay for the Annapolis area is $10 to $15 an hour.

Experts and parents agree a great babysitter is worth paying a little more.

No one will care for your kids like you, Herrolz says, but you want to find the next best thing in childcare: someone who genuinely likes your kids, enjoys spending time with them and is responsible and able to handle difficult situations.

“Once you find a good babysitter you like and the kids like, you’ll be interested in paying them as much as you can,” Herrolz says.